Games consumers find themselves in a strange place these days. Games made domestically in the U.S. have a laundry list of political hurdles to get through before making any headway into gameplay. In recent months games like Stellar Blade, Mecha Break, and Genshin Impact have been attacked due to the “male gaze” (Read this as: female characters having aesthetically pleasing attributes) and character creation options.
To cite just one example: Genshin Impact’s Western playerbase saw a sizeable group of youth gather together to rebel against the skin tone of characters from Genshin’s latest regional addition ‘Natlan’.
On the other hand, Black Myth: Wukong has deliberately disregarded the PC mores of our current culture. The result is PS5’s flying off the shelves in China – so much so that reselling and scalping are back.
Enter Games Science Studio, a small dev team that was primarily known for smaller-scale games, particularly mobile and indie titles such as Art of War: Red Tides. Mobile games are the largest gaming market on Earth. It’s no mistake that Games Science was able to grow into a company capable of creating a AAA title by using the low entry point of mobile gaming to build a solid reputation.
Black Myth: Wukong is the first AAA game produced by Games Science Studio, and it shows. The game is brimming with passion, and a great deal of attention has been placed on incorporating the most successful mechanics of recent games with the most successful aesthetic of recent games. What I mean to say is: Black Myth: Wukong studied the success of the Souls games, and Bloodborne, and now Elden Ring. With all of this in mind, the team at Games Science Studio went to work crafting Black Myth: Wukong’s gameplay and visual dynamics based on the above-mentioned titles.
Why The Game Isn’t Just Hot Air
As a player you’re able to feel the challenge that the main character is experiencing. You’re able to feel the scale of the adventure as you go through the various trials of Wukong. This enables the heavy weight of the weapons and the crashing blows from giant enemies to feel as epic as it can get. Perhaps this is what led to: Black Myth: Wukong Sells an Incredible 10 Million Copies in Just 3 Days. This game has flown past the previous records of Elden Ring and Hogwarts Legacy within nearly the same time frame. It’s even on par with the blockbuster sales of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.
Black Myth: Wukong is a slightly more “mature” adaption of the Chinese novel Journey To The West. However, unlike previous productions, Games Science Studio decided that Sun Wukong would not only be a bit of a prankster, he would also carry the desire shared by many Chinese citizens, and likewise many of the world’s citizens: A desire to break free from the chains of destiny. The game’s narrative focuses on power, identity, and the struggle for freedom, with Wukong’s character evolving as he faces numerous trials.
The Flaws
That’s not to say that the game doesn’t have it’s flaws. The map is very restrictive, despite the appearance of being an open world, and players have called it a Souls-like game (Dark Souls). Some players have pointed out that Black Myth: Wukong doesn’t fully embrace the challenging and strategic combat mechanics that define the source materials it takes inspiration from.
But among the negative feedback came the politicized responses from gaming journos around the internet. Screen Rant went so far as to say that the game’s “lack of diversity and inclusion” made it difficult to play. But given the source material is in itself based off of Chinese myth and folklore—one would expect the characters to reflect Chinese culture and attitudes. However, this might be too much to ask of the same people who see no problem with the abuse practiced upon the Japanese at the hands of Assassin’s Creed: Shadows developer Ubisoft.
Shockwaves Across the West’s Gaming Strongholds
While Bandai Namco insists that DEI is on the minds of gamers, while Ubisoft smashes the cultural heritage of Japan, while Sony bickers about bathing suits, and while Firewalk’s Concord struggles to maintain 200 hundred live players, Black Myth: Wukong shocked them all (at the time of this writing) with a record-setting 2.4 Million active players on Steamcharts.
Time and time again we see that the best formula for success is focusing on what the player will enjoy about the game, not what the hyper-politicized social media mobs will think of it. Black Myth: Wukong broke records because of the desire to fulfill the expectations of gamers, rather than the desire to talk down to us.